Environmental Factors - McDonalds

The fast food giant of McDonalds has successfully reached to every corner of the world conducting business. McDonalds conducts business in 118 countries of the 194 countries in the world. The company began in the United States in 1940 and continually spread throughout the world to present day. The environmental factors the company faces on a day to day basis vary greatly from country to country. The corporation of McDonalds has built up an independent business strategy among the global community. The global franchise has a small presence in countries other than the United States and Canada. The presence is known mainly due to the American populations in the other countries, and the large amount of advertising in the countries. Due to the differences in cultures around the world, such as India where cows are holy creatures and beef is forbidden. The trade practices are greatly different among the countries that do not allow beef, or other types of foods in regard to cultural differences.

Demographics in McDonalds marketing plan is greatly varied per the culture where the target market is located. The culture of the country and demographic of the target population rules how the marketing plan will be carried out, and which strategies will be included. The research completed is vital to the company's success. "In many countries around the world we do not have a presence and our current strategy is to focus on the markets where we do business. No firm date has been established for the opening of new markets." (2010)

The cultural differences among the various countries are the biggest hurdle that McDonalds has encountered. The differences of countries that consume beef versus the countries that do not consume beef, and maintaining the products that McDonalds is known for is the struggle. Items in India are vegetarian, pork, or fish products as consuming beef in the country is considered forbidden as cows are holy creatures. Other countries like Russia have their own specialty menu items to tempt the local tastes. Taking the cultural differences into consideration is a large part of McDonald's success. The country of India for instance would not have allowed the company to conduct business if they were going to sell beef products in their restaurants there.

McDonalds carries a large social burden in the markets they serve. The obesity rates, waste amounts, agricultural diseases, and equitable trade practices are a few they consider on their website. "Viewing our responsibilities in this type of holistic manner, we consider our priorities for food safety, quality, and costs, as well as our ethical, environmental, and economic responsibilities collectively, as we make purchasing decisions and evaluate supplier performance.

Our global progress on beef and coffee sustainability illustrate how we are working to bring this approach to life by addressing different components of sustainability through